Beluga LinerPassenger

The Beluga Liner is Saud Kruger's flagship, and the definitive answer to 'what carries the most passengers?' Twelve optional internals — several class 6 — hold the largest cabin suite in the game: up to ~184 economy passengers, or fewer in the first-class and luxury cabins that the most lucrative VIP missions demand. And as a purpose-built liner, it carries Saud Kruger's comfort advantages, so passengers pay more, complain less, and rate the trip higher than they would on any converted freighter.

That dedicated-liner edge is the key passenger insight: ships like the Cutter or Anaconda can physically fit as many cabins, but they don't earn the comfort bonuses, so they make less per trip and draw fewer premium passengers. The Beluga's costs are its large pad and modest jump range — it's a poor traveller to truly distant scenic spots — but for high-volume, high-luxury passenger work, nothing else comes close. The cruise liner, perfected.

Four things make the Beluga the ultimate liner:

• The most cabins in the game. Up to ~184 economy passengers, or large suites of first-class and luxury for premium missions.
• Dedicated-liner comfort bonus. As a Saud Kruger ship, passengers pay more and complain less than on any converted hull — higher payouts per seat.
• Six utility mounts. Room for shields and defences to keep VIPs safe on threatened routes.
• Purpose-built luxury. Designed for passengers from the keel up — the comfort and capacity no freighter-conversion matches.

The role ceiling: the largest premium cabin loadout in the game paired with the Saud Kruger comfort bonus for the highest gross per trip — short only on range and large-pad-only reach.

The 95/100 headline is a verdict against the passenger role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Both tables rate ships for passenger work specifically. The role column is the maximum economy passenger capacity — but note that dedicated liners earn comfort bonuses that raise payouts and satisfaction above what raw cabin count alone implies.

Same class — large passenger ships

The Beluga leads despite the Cutter and Anaconda fitting more raw cabins — because as a dedicated liner it earns comfort bonuses that mean higher pay and happier passengers per seat. That's the passenger lesson: a purpose-built liner out-earns a higher-capacity freighter conversion.

Other classes — the dedicated and converted options

The dedicated liners (Orca, Lynx, Dolphin) earn the comfort bonus the Beluga shares but carry fewer passengers; the converted ships carry many but earn less per seat. The Beluga combines maximum capacity with the liner bonus — the top of the passenger tree, for volume work close to home.

At ~79.7M Cr the Beluga is a major purchase, with no rank gate. A passenger fit — a full cabin suite, shields and a good FSD — brings the all-in figure to around 115M Cr.

It pays for itself on volume: the most seats plus the liner comfort bonus means the highest gross per trip on busy tourist routes. For occasional passenger work a smaller liner is wiser; for a dedicated cruise business, the Beluga's capacity compounds fastest.

A high-capacity liner fit: a vast mixed cabin suite, a fast-charging bi-weave for passenger safety, and a long-range FSD on a 950t hull. Initial is buy-only (two economy cabins to start earning); A-Rated is the liner baseline; Engineered trades mass for range and hardens the shield. Cabin classes are swap-to-suit — pack economy for bulk tourist runs, first/luxury for VIP fares.

Buy the hull on its stock E-rated cores (7C fuel tank) and the default Lightweight Alloy bulkheads it ships with, then fit just two 6E Economy Passenger Cabins — 64 economy seats to start earning bulk tourist fares.

Everything else stays empty in the buy-only column: all five utility mounts, the bi-weave shield, and the remaining cabin and internal slots. No boosters, no shield, no premium cabins yet.

It's a deliberately bare start — the upgrade plan A-rates the cores, fills out the cabin suite, and adds the shield next. The light alloy bulkheads carry through every state; a liner wants the lower hull mass for range, not military plate.

A-rating priority for a liner:

• 1FSD → 7A — Range to reach scenic sightseeing destinations. ~10M Cr
• 2Cabin suite — The cabins are the payload; fit the mix the board demands. ~10M Cr
• 3Shield Generator → 6C bi-weave — Passenger safety on threatened routes; add three 0A Shield Boosters across the five utility mounts (the other two carry a Point Defence and a Heat Sink Launcher). ~10M Cr
• 4Thrusters → 7A — Move the heavy hull and escape interdiction. ~12M Cr
• 5Power Plant → 6A — Power for cabins, shields and modules. ~12M Cr
• 6Power Distributor → 6A — Holds the ENG capacitor to boost the heavy hull clear of interdiction. ~5M Cr

Bulkheads stay the stock Lightweight Alloy — a passenger liner has no use for military plate, and the lower mass protects the FSD range that pays the bills.

The passenger engineering pattern: range, mobility and shields. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1FSD Increased Range first — reaching scenic destinations defines passenger payouts.
• 2Dirty thrusters so the heavy liner moves and escapes interdiction.
• 3Bi-weave shield and boosters to keep passengers safe on threatened routes.
• 4Cabins themselves aren't engineered — just fit the right classes.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

Engineered, the Beluga carries ~184 happy passengers in luxury and reaches scenic spots well enough to keep them coming — the highest passenger gross per trip in the game. Lightweight Armour on the bulkheads, a LightWeight life support, sensors and the light-everywhere build shave hull mass to push the jump near ~40 LY rather than adding plate it will never need. The Engine-Focused distributor now runs Super Conduits for faster ENG recharge, so the heavy hull can chain boosts to break an interdiction; the SCB is trimmed with Lightweight to keep the range-first mass budget. Its range and pad limit distant work, but for high-volume luxury cruising, nothing earns more.

• Match cabin classes to the mission board — economy for volume, luxury for VIP pay.
• The dedicated-liner comfort bonus is the Beluga's hidden edge over higher-capacity freighters.
• Keep a shield and point defence — some passenger missions attract threats.
• Its modest range suits nearby scenic spots; for distant sightseeing, a faster liner turns trips quicker.